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Micro Mini Sculpting & BreyerFest Absence

7/18/2015

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 Hi ho all!
 I am homebound for this BF weekend. No, there's nothing wrong, just lack of funds (it's that starving artist persona). So while I sit here, reading the texts from my friends who ARE in Lexington, I am starting two new ponies & working on the existing WIPs. 
  I started two MM scale OSs yesterday. AND I took pictures along the way so I could write the first tutorial of my new blog! Are you proud of me? ;) It is hard to stop & take pictures!
 Disclaimer (don't be scared!): This is a tutorial on how I make a MM. You may do it totally different! & that's ok! There are no rules to sculpting a model horse other than it must look like a horse & preferably hold up fairly well (as in playdough is probably not the best medium for sculpting a MM, though someone may find it works perfectly for them!). So never be afraid to experiment & forge your own path! You may break some exciting new ground! Even if it's only for your own sculpting, it will be worth it! 
 OK! Here goes!
 Supplies are: 
* An Idea
* Paper, I just used note book paper
* A pencil with a good eraser
* Wire, I'm not precisely certain of the gauge of this stuff, between 24 & 34. I've had it for years & bought it for something else actually (look for the small gauges in the jewelry isle at the craft store)
* Wire cutters or scissors
* A+B epoxy putty
* Aves Fixit epoxy putty (or Aves Apoxy Sculpt)
* Water
* Something to sculpt with, your fingers are too big to smooth say, in between the legs! You could probably use a pencil or something. My favorite tool is the 'etching' tool from one of those craft store etch a picture thingies. I got one for Christmas one year, kept the tool & ditched the kit!
* Carbide Scraper (from Rio Rondo. Money well spent, trust me! & get ALL of the tips!)
* Sand paper, about 600 grit (look for the fine grits for automotive detailing)
* Needle Files, especially a small round. A flat & half round would be a good idea also. (Note that I have no clue if these are their actual names! ;) )
* I may add more as I think of them!

 I decided to do an Abaco Barb; it is the rarest horse breed in the world with only one mare, Nunki, left. They are a really amazing old Spanish breed that has lived feral for over 200 years on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Just to challenge myself, I decided to do a mare & a teeny filly to go with her. I've never done a MM foal before! I'm looking foreword to it!
 Once I have my breed, pose, etc. & whatnot chosen, I sketch it out. I draw a 3" x 3" square, this is just to show the scale of what I'm working on in the in-progress pictures; I show a MM at the Fair in the Miniature class in art every year, & they have to be under 3" x 3"... I've got that part down easy with a MM! In the square I sketch the horse I have in my mind, they are never particularly GOOD sketches, but they don't need to be. All they need to be is as close as possible to the real life size & corresponding proportions of the model I am hoping to create. This is, in essence, my blue print, as I will use it to build the armature & begin the sculpting.     
 Once the sketch is satisfactory, I grab the wire & guess a length to cut, estimating for longer than too short. You will need three lengths of wire, so guess your first strand & then cut two more.
 Then twist (or braid if you wish), the three strands together so you have a back length twist in the middle of your wires. You will want the 'non-twisted' wire ends to be about where your legs will start, not too far back & not too far forward.
 Then mix a smidgeon of A+B epoxy, which is the strongest, densest epoxy I have found so far, & cover the twist with it. Set it aside to cure. You can rub a little baking soda on the 'wet' epoxy so it wont stick & cure to whatever it's up against when you set it aside. I happened to set this one on the light bulb of the lamp over me while I moved onto making the filly; heat makes epoxy cure faster, while cold will slow it down. Being impatient, heat it got! (Be careful when you pick it up if you do this, it will be HOT! & don't forget it's up there either!)  
 While that one was curing I started the filly. I did her in much the same way as the mare. About the only difference was that I did not use A+B on her. A+B is very hard, & with these little guys you need would have to hold onto the sculpt too hard to carve the A+B well- Squished OS! So for the skinny filly I did her entirely out of Fix it, which is the second densest epoxy I've found. If you do not wish to buy so many types of epoxies, just use Aves Apoxy Sculpt or your choice of epoxy, they're so small it won't make much difference in the end! (I would not recommend Apoxy Clay though, it is the softest & tends to 'chatter' with the scraper. They are too small for this to happen to.)
 After the epoxy had sufficiently 'cooked' on the lighbulb (I did burn the mare a bit I think! Oops!), I bent the armatures to match the poses of the sketches.  
 Then it's just a matter of   s l o w l y   building up the horse shape with Fixit. They are so small, this has to be done in stages, very tiny stages, letting it cure in between. Here is how far I have gotten on them.
 & that brings their story up to the present. I will keep you updated on them as I move along! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to comment or contact me! Thanks for reading!
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Legs & tails,  the workroom reassembled, & back yard nature!

7/3/2015

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  I've been absent from my blog, well, ALL of my web site for about two months now! Busy, on deadline, sick from a summer cold, catching up, & busy! I'm STILL catching up actually!

 Here is one of my projects at the mo. This is a G1 Silky Sullivan that my friend Kati gave me. The poor fella took an unfortunate dive due to a reckless boyfriend & suffered not just a broken leg, but a splintered leg & missing piece! Kati didn't want to see Silky Sullivan anymore so he came to me! I can see the potential in this guy though! So he needed a new leg!
 I filed down the splintered part of his leg to the knee & drilled a small hole as deep as I could with my Dremel. I then took a length of 18 gague brass rod & supper glue/baking soda attached it to his stump. After that set I roughed in a leg with A + B epoxy putty (which, so you know, is THEE SAME as Gapoxio in every way right down to the packaging!). A + B is the densest epoxy I have found to date so I use it for the more breakable parts. It is hard to work with though, so once it set I detailed over it with Aves Apoxy Sculpt. Carve & file in some detail & contours, & he now has a leg to stand on! I also did a bit of sculpt work on various other parts, particularly his head which looked stubby to me. Bit more sanding & then he'll get a paint job!
 I've also been working on a flicky French braided tail on a CM Strapless. It has taken me three tries, but I think that this one will be the winner! Finally! I did have it finished at one point, I loved the braiding, but the skirt just wasn't sitting right with me! So off it was to come, but in the process the braiding cracked, so I just started over!
 I took a few pics of the tail making. Not enough to be any sort of a tutorial unfortunately. Manes & tails are a pretty fast paced deal for me, there is little time to take pics in-progress before the epoxy sets. I really need someone hanging over my shoulder taking pics & notes as I do it!
 Anyway! It turned out quite well & with a bit more added here & there for depth it will look pretty good!
 For the armature I drilled a hole & used 12 gauge brass rod for the main piece, glue & baking soda attached. I also ran three pieces of 18 gauge brass rod along it in the same manner, just to have more support. I A + B epoxied over that. Then, with a bit of a struggle I glue/baking sodad three lengths of 12 gauge aluminum wire to form the skirt. That wasn't enough to hold it there though so I wired over that with 34 gauge wire to 'tie' it on as well. Then I A + B epoxied over that. Then I took this really cool wire armature mesh & filled the gaps for support. It doesn't take much.
 To do the sculpting I started it with Aves Fixit epoxy (the brown), it is the next densest epoxy to A + B. It is easier to detail though. The rest I sculpted with Apoxy Sculpt, it doesn't matter if you do both at the same time, they cure all the same even together. For tools, I have a mish-mash of things, official & unofficial. My favorite is an etching tool from one of those picture etching kits. The other two are actual sculpting tools, but they are plastic so they are slowly whittling down every time I scrape the built up epoxy off of them. I also use a number 2 round brush with water to smooth down the harsh edges from sculpting.
 An update on 'operation workroom', everything is just about back to where it should be! Still have magazines to move back in, & some more ponies to liberate from bins, but I think that's just about it! YES!!!!
 It is nice & bright (love my new LED overhead light!), & it is a dream to be able to just sweep it out with a broom now that the hateful carpeting is gone! 
 Two new additions are a China cupboard (it was free!), & a small fridge/freezer that I more or less inherited. No more paint in the household refrigerator! I also happened to pick up a new lamp a week or so ago for a song at my favorite thrift shop. It's a weird lamp but it SO works for me! It is a floor lamp, but it is bendable! So I can bend it over myself while I am painting! I gave it a stylish pie pan shade, & we're good! I am now on the hunt for just the right shelf to put inside the door where I have room. Hopefully one will turn up at the thrift shop!
 And now I just want to share some pictures from spring in my back yard! Enjoy!
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    Ramblings & tutorials of a model horse artist.

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  • Home
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  • Wayne County Ohio Fair